Yup, I've been submerged by the quantity of super cool releases that went out on very few time, it was super hard to follow! And then I let myself procrastinate, without saying a word about these bands this blog, shame on me. It runs from intimate skramz duo, to abrasive post-hardcore fed with violent neo-crust that hits straight in your face, through emo french way full of sweetness. Ladies and gentlemen, here are some albums and EP released in recent weeks, especially not to miss! Among many, many others... This is only a "small" selection!

This kind of sound will always hits me in the heart, whatever happens. With his new LP, Algae Bloom a screamo full of playful riffs, somewhat minimalist in the production and the line-up itself since it's a duet, but with big amount of emotions, sincerity and memorable melodies that emerge from this album, which follows I'm still scared of living as beautiful, a release that was also super beautiful. And all these elements seems quite logical when we read the lyrics of the songs, very influenced by the life experiences of Matt and Leigh, their mistakes, lyrics which are here for catalysing their self-doubt rather than a catharsis. Self-doubt is a malaise particularly present in our societies, the duo exorcise it through its powerful and poignant pieces. Hey, it could almost be a Swedish skramz band...

"Post a letter to myself, leave it on the mat. Write again... Let my words pile up by the door. Never leave the house." - We Met Upon A Level

That's an album I discovered precisely while I write this part of the article. Droughts comes from Chicago, and All Together is actually a compilation of all their releases to date: the EP Unmoved, as well as songs from the split with William Bonney, and the 4-way split with Frameworks, Kittyhawk and Prawn. I just remembered how this band is dope. It's somewhere between post-hardcore and post-punk, and you'll like it if you dig bands such as Native or Touché Amoré. And little bonus, you'll find 3 new songs from the upcoming album of the band, Stay Behind. I'm already looking forward to listen to the other songs, and this compilation will made the wait less hard, the 3 songs being already impressive for several facts: for the tension, groove, uniqueness, intensity, and that little moody side which emerges to the whole. Really not to be missed, and you have to listen it to high volume. I even seem to hear some Amanda Woodward influences on "Body Full Of Glass", one of the songs of the split with William Bonney... If that's not a seal of quality, I don't know what to do for you.

&lt;a href="http://skeletallightning.bandcamp.com/album/all-together"&gt;All Together by Droughts&lt;/a&gt;

These gentlemen put me a gigantic slap at their performance at Miss The Stars Fest this year, where they are given body and soul to interpret their music as deeply as possible. Mont-Doré comes from Belgium, and provides us with this first album a sequel even more ambitious, chaotic and destructive than the EP Escalades. It's impossible to cling on any landmark on this new record, one is constantly pushed forward on brittle and rough roads, on neo-crust avalanches, and rhythmic breaks that evoke the noise-rockesque post-hardcore of the 90's. Whether you are a fan of Rainmaker, Botch or Fall Of Efrafa (3 names that came to my mind while listening to this record, being attentive to the voice, the declamation of the lyrics and the music universe in general), you will find your happiness with this impressive new album. Not easy to access, but the more we listen to it, stronger is the impact."This is something we share, the kindness we bid for. The hands are holding tight, so tight we want this exist forever. So let's get our muddy hands washed in the same clear water and splatter our faces with leftovers of those moments we survived." - Let's Not Slam Doors Anymore

THIS. IS. AWESOME. I already said a lot of good things for their EP Devotion, here is the opportunity to make the same thing about Monte Ida, a trio from Rennes that plays a completely heartbreaking and stunning screamo, with epic melodies, lyrics yelled in unison. They manage to make their sound even stronger than the previous release, in this fantastic new EP named Corinth, and oh my god, I'm totally in love. It reminds me some Loma Prieta stuff until Dark Mountain, before it gets too noisy, and also the All The Footprints-era of Envy, Raein... I long to discover them live and scream some lyrics with them and clear my few demons with their therapeutic skramz. You have to listen to these 4 new songs, NOW. And also, it's again a magnificent artwork. Well done gentlemen, and thank you!"My skin is a breakable shape, my soul is a concrete bound, my memories are flying pieces of death, maybe hasty judgments make me blind, but what can I do when I see that interest is only found in a torn vision where time disappears?"- Lete
&lt;a href="http://monteida.bandcamp.com/album/corinth"&gt;Corinth by Monte Ida&lt;/a&gt;

Before them, some groups have tried to make screamo with sounds influenced 80's post-punk and even cold-wave, I think about bands like Tidemouth or Xerxes. Solanas did it with same consistency and originality since last year with the album The Distance Within Our Bodies, in a rather unfortunate indifference, and they're back with a new EP, What's Left To Leave Behind. More direct than the album, this EP also seems to benefit from a better production. The mysterious and distant side of the cold-wave atmosphere of the riffs are always omnipresent and brings a big singularity to the whole, paradoxically highlighting the complaints of Ollie (vocals), which screams our sorrows and fears always with great passion, still somewhat focused on the theme of human body. Definitely a very interesting band, which should be heard in the fog with lots of bare trees around you, and that will inevitably affect you if you feel bad about yourself.

This will be one of the top-notch records of the summer. Yet the authors of We Go Way Back come to us from Gothenburg, Sweden, which in itself is already a decisive factor in the quality of an emo band. More objectively, I Love Your Lifestyle is the perfect fusion of all the best things that we have heard in the math-rock / emo crossover since the last decade. And to add more greatness, it's fueled by personal confessions, but also by intelligent and important lyrics : they denounce the stranglehold of social networks on our brains and behavior ("Nice Jacket. Not"), the misogynism ("Common Sense"), they confess their anxiety of time ( "Summer 03"), or routine... In the well-named "Routine". All told, sung, shouted, in a jovial tone and driving by a torrent of crystalline melodies, jerky, sweet, sunny. A true melting-pot! I'm pretty sure that this guitar-driven record will not leave you indifferent when you'll need reassurance. A sing-along machine, which warm the heart and soul, since the band seeks to understand and explain the deeper malaise of our generation whose musicians are part of, narrating them in the most funny, playful and comforting way possible. An invigorating album, as deeply teen as it's paradoxically adult, that I'll surely listen way beyond the summer of 2016. I am inordinately fan, and this will inevitably be in my year-end tops, and in yours too. I'll see them 2 times in France between August and September with awesome line-ups, I'm so excited!!

"Domination techniques and misogyny, douches constantly mansplaining. It's so sad it's funny how (paradoxical) some antiracist men patronize women. Elitist macho jerks, counter productive work. We could definitely need more allies than more slops that 'simply don't care'. You've got to close your eyes to not see it. It's time to start wanting to be aware !" - Common Sense

<a href="http://iloveyourlifestyle.bandcamp.com/album/we-go-way-back">We Go Way Back by I Love Your Lifestyle</a>

COLORED MOTH - Fragmenting Tensions

Au moment où je commence sérieusement à m'intéresser à la scène noise-rock/post-hardcore 90's, voilà que je reçois un mail de Christopher, guitariste/chanteur de Colored Moth, plein d'enthousiasme à l'idée de me faire découvrir son groupe. Il a eu raison : MEGA DOSE DE TENSION EXTRÊME ! Concrètement, ça sonne comme un mélange de tout ce qui s'est fait et se fait de cool de cette scène : l'intensité d'un Hot Snakes, le chaos sensible de Drive Like Jehu, les basses écrasantes de Shellac, les mélodies rugueuses de The Jesus Lizard, les expérimentations de Fugazi... Le tout avec l'urgence, l'inventivité et la spontanéité de chaque groupe réunis en une fusion d'intensité qui donne un truc techniquement proche du magma. On est ainsi relativement proches du screamo dans les vociférations et les montées d'adrénalines saccadées. On a même le droit à des featurings de qualité avec Leonie (Svffer) sur "LZRDSNC", et Nixe et Simon (Nervöus) sur "Second Sight - Craving Of The Id". En clair, cet extrait de la bio résume relativement bien le contenu du disque: "We like the experiment. We like explosions. We love what we do."
Just when I started to get seriously interested by the noise-rock / post-hardcore scene from the 90's, I get an email from Christopher, guitarist / singer of Colored Moth, full of enthusiasm to the the idea of ​​making me discover his band. He was right: EXTREME TENSION OVERLOAD!, it basically sounds like a mix of everything that is done and cool in this scene: the intensity of Hot Snakes, the sensitive chaos of Drive Like Jehu, the crushing bass riffs of Shellac, rough melodies of The Jesus Lizard, the experimentations of Fugazi... all with urgency, creativity and spontaneity of each band together in a fusion to create an intensity that gives a thing close to magma. Thus, it's relatively close to screamo in the shouts and jerky surges of adrenaline. We even have the right to quality featurings with Leonie (Svffer) in "LZRDSNC" and Nixe and Simon (Nervöus) on "Second Sight - Craving Of The Id". This extract of their small bandcamp bio summarizes quite well the content of the disc: "We like the experiment. We like explosions. We love what we do.". And hey, thank you so much for the vinyl, dudes."Acceptance is no satisfaction. It’s (more like) conception. That’s why it’s always hard to try. I will run as fast as I can, beyond behind (the) way down to it. Then tell me if it’s worth." - Fragmenting Tensions

Daïtro is dead, long live Grand Terminal! Well, it's a bit easy to say this, but I can't deny that Trompe-l'oeil reminded me a lot the music of the famous french screamo band, and their great side project Bâton Rouge. To be honest, I expected to be more excited about this LP at the first listening, it seemed to lack a little something, surely the warm atmosphere of the demo, the raw side of the prod and generosity of riffs that characterized her, giving way to something more cutting edge, but sometimes seemed a little to fall flat... but I was wrong : the more you replay this record, the more you pay attention to the riffs, the more we finally found this warmth that I missed, the general enthusiasm that made us feel so good while listening to these songs. This is clearly a grower, as americans say: in fact, it just seems that Grand Terminal has simplified his music, while making sure that it remains catchy. A mellow and sunny emo punk that it's cool to enjoy while running, or just chilling in the streets. The little guys do anyway tip the balance toward the right side with their top lyrics, which are always an invitation to travel, to introspection, to move forward and regain control to self, all told with insistence and passion. At record o listen when we need courage, to empty your head, and that the Lyon emo scene miss you.

Spain is also talented that the neighbors for making screamo, and Drei Affen is an absolute proof with their first self-titled album, which objectively FUCKING RULES. As much massive and sharp riffs as in your favorite emoviolence groups, but a common thread always focused on the melodic and dramatic without ever releasing the pressure, all served by a clear production leaving fully express the musical density and emotional of the whole. I am absolutely fan of "Mieda" and his simple but universal lyrics that must be perfect to yell at a show, with all our sorrows and frustrations evacuated in the same common spirit of catharsis, something that the musicians already make on this LP. A surprising, poignant and challenging first record. After hearing such a show of force for a first try, I'm really impatient to find out what the group prepares for the future!

It's fresh, it's very confidential, and this may be one of the best records of German hardcore newcomers of the year. In the way of Drei Affen, Lost Boys sway us a powerful and expeditious skramz, but adding a more "dirty" side, especially with the Feedback that agitates the songs from time to time. And here, the production is much more raw, accentuating the virulent and sharp side of the atmospheric of the album. Everything is sung in the native language of musicians, and this self-titled album is quite original for a first release. If you dig devastating music for the mind and eardrums, this is for you!

<a href="http://ohsoverylost.bandcamp.com/album/s-t">s/t by Lost Boys</a>

Once again a german band, but in the "local slap" category : Masada pleased us with his highly anticipated firts LP, by mixing a late 90's screamo with straight-in-the-face and raw hardcore influences, in a typical German tradition, while retaining some clear and trembling vocals that we could already hear on the excellent demo. Add to this a curious minimalist interlude between 8-bit and shoegaze, and you get a singular and great record. Not super easy to access with the first very offensive and overwhelming tracks, but revealed much more ease and more sensibility on the following titles.

MUSIC OVERLOAD / EMOTIONS OVERFLOW

Oh man, I don't understand a word of french... :(

OK, so read this, little human. This blog is mostly written in french, especially the posts who talks about the history of emo, because I know there is plenty of english-written websites who explain the emo thing much better than mine, and because there's no french website about the history of the scene...
Since March 2015, I translate all my words, so it will be way more simple for you to understand! You just have to look below the french words of each post, and you'll find an english translation! :)